2023 Indiana State MTNA Competition Results

Music Teachers National Association is pleased to announce the results of the composition competition for Indiana.

Elementary:
Representative: Elijah Fan, Student of Caroline Ahn

Junior:

Senior:
Winner: Noah Strawhacker, Student of Amanda Cornet
Honorable mention: Henry Olson, Student of Caroline Ahn
Honorable mention: Srikar Vaasan, Student of Jessica Dorman

Young Artist:
Representative: Miles Carroll, Student of Don Freund

Many thanks to our judges:

Eleanor Trawick

Many thanks to our competition coordinators:

James Helton, Indiana Composition Coordinator
(765) 285-5517
jhelton@bsu.edu

Christopher Goldston, National Composition Coordinator
(773) 580-7301
goldston@hotmail.com

Winning and representative compositions automatically advance to the division competition. The results of that competition will be announced in mid-December.

Congratulations to all of the participants in the competition! We hope that the comments you receive from the judges will be helpful to you and your teacher. Your efforts are to be commended and we hope that you will continue to learn and grow as a composer. Good luck with your musical studies!

MTNA 2020 Indiana State MTNA Competition, Results Announcement

MTNA Competitions 2020

Dr. James Helton, Coordinator

Congratulations to the superb performers and composers in the 2020 MTNA Competitions! This year’s competitions were held online, with judges doing their work remotely during the two weeks between October 10 and 25.

JUNIOR STRINGS (3 entrants)
Winner: Serge Kalinovsky, student of Susan Moses
Alternate: Lily Sullivan, student of Grigory Kalinovsky
Honorable Mention: Miranda Isbitts, student of Mimi Zweig

SENIOR STRINGS (2 entrants)
Winner: Cooper Olsen, student of Mimi Zweig
Alternate: Abigail Ko, student of Mimi Zweig

JUNIOR PIANO (4 entrants)
Winner: Jessica Flowers, student of Christopher Weldon
Alternate: Jack Ma, student of Phoenix Park-Kim
Honorable Mentions in no particular order:
Alex Lu, student of Kana Mimaki
Charles Berryhill, student of Gayle Kowalchyk

YOUNG ARTIST PIANO (13 Entrants)
Winner: Kaden Larson, Indiana University, student of Norman Krieger
Alternate: Prudence Poon, Indiana University, student of Roberto Plano
Honorable Mention: Robert Levinger, Indiana University, student of Roberto Plano
Honorable Mention: Marc Levesque, Indiana University, student of Roberto Plano

STATE REPRESENTATIVES (single entrants in their categories):
Junior Composition: Srikar Vaasan, student of Jessica Dorman
Senior Composition: Aidan Feeney, student of Jennifer Feeney
Senior Piano: Talinaiya Bao, student of Yerin Kim

Good luck to our winners and representatives at the East Central Division!!

Many thanks to our judges:

Dr. Peter Opie, Ball State University – Strings
Dr. Eleanor Trawick, Ball State University – Composition
Dr. Ellen Elder, The University of Southern Mississippi – Junior and Young Artist Piano
Dr. Kent Cook, Illinois Wesleyan University (emeritus) – Young Artist Piano
Dr. May Phang, DePauw University – Young Artist Piano

Many thanks to my fellow competition coordinators:

Leon Harshenin, Junior Performance Competitions
Hamilton Tescarollo, Senior Performance Competitions

2019 Indiana State MTNA Competition, Results Announcement

MTNA Competitions

James Helton, Chairperson

Hearty congratulations to the winners of the state round of the MTNA Competitions! All winners and representative, listed below, will proceed to the recorded round of the East Central Division. Results of the ECD Competition will be announced in January.

Senior Piano (4 entrants)
Winner: Grace Tubbs, student of Karen Taylor
Alternate: Trinity Le, student of Robert Palmer
Honorable mention: Ethan Watts, student if E. J. Choe
Honorable mention: Richard Wu, student of Karen Taylor

Senior Woodwind (2 entrants)
Winner: Brandon Trent, saxophone, student of Otis Murphy
Alternate: Alonzo Barrett, saxophone, student of Otis Murphy

Young Artist Piano (14 entrants)
Winner: Marc Levesque, student of Roberto Plano, Indiana University
Alternate: Charlotte Tang, student of Roberto Plano, Indiana University
Honorable mention: Nicha Stapanukul, student of Norman Krieger, Indiana University
Honorable mention: Ye Eun Park, student of Roberto Plano, Indiana University

Young Artist Strings (2 entrants)
Winner: Emily Leung, violin, student of Mauricio Fuks
Alternate: Janell Preheim, violin, student of Solomia Soroka

Young Artist Woodwind (3 entrants)
Winner: Wesley Taylor, saxophone, student of Otis Murphy, Indiana University
Alternate: Marley Proffitt, saxophone, student of Otis Murphy, Indiana University
Honorable mention: Shuen-An Tzuo, saxophone, student of Otis Murphy, Indiana University

We wish the best of luck to our Representatives!

Darren Li, violin, student of Laura Andrews – Junior Strings
Meagan Hipsky, cello, student of Sarah Kim – Senior Strings
Aidan Feeney, student of Jennifer Feeney – Senior Composition
Jacob Zaring, student of Caroline Ahn, Anderson University – Young Artist Composition
Stephen Stachofcky, baritone, student of Samuel Savage, Purdue University-Fort Wayne – Young Artist Voice

Many thanks to our judges:

Senior Piano: Dr. Phoenix Park-Kim, Indiana Wesleyan University
Young Artist Piano: Dr. Diana Dumlavwalla, The Florida State University
—–: Dr. Richard Ratliff, The University of Indianapolis
—–: Dr. Reginald Rogers, Anderson University, emeritus
Young Artist Strings: Prof. Anna Vayman, Ball State University
Senior and Young Artist Woodwind: Dr. Heidi Radtke, Butler University

As always, thanks to our Junior and Senior Coordinators, Leon Harshenin and Hamilton Tescarollo, for all of their hard work.

Have You Ever Wondered…

Have you ever wondered any of the following?

  • What you would do if your studio was struck by a national disaster?
  • Where you could find money to pay for music lessons for yourself?
  • How you could afford to attend an MTNA national conference?
  • How your area could launch a community program aimed at bringing music lessons to those in need?

The answer is the MTNA Foundation. The Foundation funds numerous programs that help members by enriching their professional lives, help communities through musical engagement,  recognize high achievement in the profession, and help teachers afflicted by disaster to get back on their feet.

So, when you donate, know that you are contributing to many funds that work to sustain a high level of music-making in the United States. Chances are you have already benefited from the MTNA Foundation, or will in the future, be able to benefit from its funds. For more information, click the “Donate” button, and read about the many places where your money can go to help others in the profession.

For questions regarding the MTNA Foundation Fund, please contact IMTA’s Foundation Fund Chair, Janet Palmberg janet.palmberg@indstate.edu.

2020 Collegiate Symposium to be held at Ball State

Indiana Teacher Karen Thickstun Wins MTNA Election

Dear IMTA colleagues,

At the MTNA conference this month, the election results were officially announced and I was sworn in as MTNA President-elect. I am deeply honored and humbled by this awesome responsibility.  This means that I will be MTNA President-elect for the 2019-2021 biennium (and then MTNA President for 2021-2023 biennium, and Immediate Past President for the 2023-2025).

I am excited to serve MTNA in this capacity and to represent the great state of Indiana in doing so!  With immense gratitude, I thank all of you for being a part of this journey with me – who I am today is partially the result of everything that we have done together over the years for IMTA, starting way back in the ‘90s when I began my IMTA experience as newsletter editor.  Thank you for supporting me in the recent election (and prior elections too!).

All the best, Karen

Karen Thickstun

Karen Thickstun

2018 Indiana State MTNA Competition, Results Announcement

MTNA Competitions Results

James Helton, MTNA Competitions Chairperson
Congratulations to Winners of the 2018 State MTNA Competitions!

ELEMENTARY COMPOSITION
Representative: Madelyn Tanner, student of Amy Chaplin

JUNIOR PIANO
Representative: Alex Lu, student of Richard Ratliff

SENIOR COMPOSITION
Winner: Aidan Feeney, student of Jennifer Feeney
Hon. Mention: Abigail Mohs, student of Donald Campfield

SENIOR PIANO
Representative: Sage Hamm, student of Robert Palmer

SENIOR WOODWIND
Winner: Brandon Trent, student of Otis Murphy, Indiana University
Alternate: Marley Proffitt, student of Otis Murphy, Indiana University
Hon. Mention: Haruka Taguchi, student of Kevin Cottrill

YOUNG ARTIST COMPOSITION
Representative: Katherine Bodor, student of Don Freund Indiana University

YOUNG ARTIST PIANO
Winner: Domonic Muzzi, student of Roberto, Plano Indiana University
Alternate: Kaden Larson, student of Norman Krieger, Indiana University
Hon. Mention: Tatsuya Katsuhara, student of May Phang, DePauw University
Hon. Mention: Minhyuk Kim, student of Matthew Hill, Goshen College

YOUNG ARTIST STRINGS
Winner: Elina Pentcheva, student of Mauricio Fuks, Indiana University
Alternate: Chiara Sannicandro, student of Mauricio Fuks, Indiana University
Hon. Mention: Nate Bomans, student of Mauricio Fuks, Indiana University
Hon. Mention: Emily Leung, student of Mauricio Fuks, Indiana University

YOUNG ARTIST WOODWIND
Winner: Paul Cotton, student of Otis Murphy, Indiana University
Alternate: Wesley Taylor, student of Otis Murphy, Indiana University
Hon. Mention: Kesley Pharis, student of Linda Strommen, Indiana University
Hon. Mention: Ting Hua Liang, student of Otis Murphy, Indiana University

CHAMBER MUSIC
Winner: Kanaderu Quartet, students of Otis Murphy, Indiana University
Ensemble Members: David Bayard, Kacie Brown, Jake Simons, Josh Tzuo

Alternate: Empyrean Quartet, students of Otis Murphy, Indiana University
Ensemble Members: Derek Granger, Catelyn Hawkins, Wesley Taylor, Paul Cotton

Hon. Mention: Java, students of Otis Murphy, Indiana University
Ensemble Members: Wesley Taylor, Brandon Trent, Benton Westbrook, Marley Proffitt

Many thanks to our judges

Composition: Dr. Amelia Kaplan, Ball State University
Junior Piano: Dr. Ray Kilburn
Young Artist Piano: Dr. Donna Lee, Kent State University
Young Artist Piano: Dr. Lori Rhoden, Ball State University
Young Artist Piano: Dr. Michael Seregow, Ball State University, formerly Washington State University
Young Artist Strings: Dr. Yu-Fang Chen, Ball State University
Senior Woodwinds: Dr. Nathan Bogert, Ball State University
Young Artist Woodwinds: Dr. Daniel Gilbert, University of Michigan

And many thanks to the following indispensable people:

Leon Harshenin, Junior Coordinator
Hamilton Tescarollo, Senior Coordinator
Ray Kilburn, Site Coordinator
Ball State MTNA Student Chapter, Ruth Oh, president

Click here to download a list of winners

Donation to the MTNA Benevolence Fund

On behalf of the teachers of the state of Indiana, the IMTA Board of Directors has voted to donate $500 to the MTNA Benevolence Fund.
The fund is solely used for the purpose of helping teachers who have suffered a loss in their studios due to natural disasters. In the wake of all that has occured over the recent months, your IMTA Board asks you to also consider a personal, tax-deductible donation.
For more information on the MTNA Benevolence Fund, visit the MTNA website.
Donations can be made online via the MTNA Foundation Website

MTNA Launches New eFestival

Music Teachers National Association is now offering members a new and wonderful opportunity – an eFestival.

The MTNA eFestival is an online-only performance opportunity where you receive constructive comments from a highly-qualified evaluator. It’s perfect for those living in remote areas, have upcoming auditions, performances or competitions, anyone with performance anxiety and more. The more you perform, the better you’re going to be!

MTNA/IMTA members can learn more in-depth details about this eFestival from a webinar hosted by MTNA eFestival manager Amy Immerman. Visit this link to log into the members-only area of the MTNA website to learn more.

Indiana-specific Conference Events

The 2017 MTNA Conference in Baltimore, MD is just around the corner. If you’re attending, here is a listing of all events that are related to Indiana and our members. Please join us in supporting our fellow Indiana colleagues and students!

Saturday, 03.18

8:45 am – Maya Kilburn, competing in the Junior Strings Competition (Galena Room)
9:15 am – Karen Thickstun (et al.), The Socially Active Music Teacher (Grand Ballrooms VII and VIII)
4:30 pm – Ball State University AND Butler University Collegiate Chapters present during Collegiate Chapters Activities Poster Sessions (Waterview Ballroom)
5:00 pm – Announcements of Junior Performance Winners (Grand Ballrooms VII and VIII)Continue reading